A Different Hedgehog
by Azecreth
Summary: What if Sonic hadn't been invited to the Brawl? What if it was a different Hedgehog? New alliances are formed, as well as new rivalries, and the Brawl will never be the same. Violence/Language
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I own nothing. All rights go to Nintendo, and Sega, etc al.

* * *

The tournament had ended. The eternal plumber Mario had home the Melee trophy in victory. The contestants had gone home to nurse their wounds, train, and get ready for the next tournament.

They weren't the only ones getting ready. Master Hand, organizer of the Super Smash Brothers Melee tournament, was preparing for the next tournament. New contestants would have to be introduced, to keep the old ones on his toes, and replace the ones who would not be returning. He had already looked over the entries, and had made several additions, selecting a warrior named Solid Snake, and another from Fox's world called Falco.

He looked over his reports some more. There was a world he had chosen which had two promising specimens. However, he did not know who to choose. He could only choose one from this world, as his docket was already almost full.

He looked over the two candidates again. Both were hedgehogs from a world called Mobius. One was billed as the fastest thing alive, while the other called himself the ultimate life form. One had defeated a man named Eggman multiple times, while the other had almost singlehandedly defeated an alien invasion. Both used devices called the Chaos Emeralds to increase their power. He wasn't sure who to choose, since they both looked promising. He couldn't ask Crazy Hand. Crazy wasn't very useful in anything important for stuff like that.

He really was getting annoyed. He needed to figure this out so he could get to designing the new stages. They were both qualified, and he had no doubt either would prove tough competition.

Fed up, he made a decision. Instead of choosing, he would let fate decide. He rummaged around in his desk and pulled out a quarter. Heads would get one hedgehog, tails the other. With a mighty toss, he flipped it into the air. As it spun around, he wondered how it would land.

* * *

The time had come. Master Hand had issued another call for all the greatest fighters in the Multiverse to come and test their skills against each other. Some had already arrived and were settling into the mansion.

The hedgehog walked calmly through the forest that surrounded the mansion. He had received the call from Master Hand and had quickly accepted. He knew this was his chance to prove the label that had been given to him. Before he had left Mobius, he had made sure to pack up enough ammunition to outfit a small army. Now, he was sure to win.

He reached the entrance to the mansion. In front was a fountain surrounded by a garden, carefully tended by one of the occupants of the mansion, no doubt. He didn't really care about the decorations. He was there to win, and that was all there was to it. The mansion itself was impressive, multiple stories, white with red trim. He had no idea where the stadium was, but he supposed that would be answered in good time.

Reaching the door, he did not knock, but slammed it open with a heavy push, the sound reverberating throughout the mansion. He stepped inside without pausing, confident in his superiority, his gun swinging at his hip.

Inside, he found several warriors waiting in the main hall. One was a man with pointed ears in a green tunic. He looked strong, but not like he could keep up with the speed. Another was a princess with an umbrella, in a pink dress. She looked too delicate to be in this fight. There would be no trouble in crushing her. The third looked to be some sort of angel kid with a bow. It was doubtful if he could do what it was necessary to win. The fourth was a fox in a sort of military outfit. He looked agile, but probably not the strongest person here.

They all swiveled and looked at the newcomer as he entered the room. He was sure they were looking him over, seeing how much of a threat he would be, but he ignored them. He didn't care what they thought about him, he knew he could beat then.

"Hey, a new challenger," said the fox.

The elf walked up beside the hedgehog, but he kept walking. "Hey, I'm Link, from Hyrule. Nice to meet you."

"Sure, whatever," mumbled the Hedgehog, brushing Link aside..

As he walked by the lady in pink, she gave him a wink and a smile, but it merely brushed off on his cold shell. He wasn't here to make friends, he was here to win.

Link introduced the other people. "The one in pink is Princess Peach, the one with the angel wings is Pit, and the fox is, well, Fox."

"Nice to know," mumbled the hedgehog, picking up his pace to move away from Link.

He reached the main stairs that led higher up into the mansion. He planned on staking out a room so he could at least enjoy himself while crushing the competition. Then he would meet with this "Master Hand" and get ready to win the "Super Smash Brothers Brawl" trophy.

As he walked up the stairs, he heard Link call out, "Hey, we never got your name."

The hedgehog glanced back at the three fighters, his hand on his hip with his gun swinging at his side, his red and black spiked hair making him a striking figure.

"Shadow,' he said darkly, "Shadow the Hedgehog."


	2. Chapter 2

Shadow was pleased to find that they would each have their own rooms. He couldn't stand the thought of having to bunk with one of these weaklings.

That wasn't the only interesting thing though. It turned out that Master Hand, true to his name, was a giant hand. Shadow had no idea how he talked, but somehow he did, and he ran the entire contest. He also owned the entire mansion, presumably from the money made off of selling commercial time, and brand licensing.

Entering his room, he saw a large bed, some cabinets, a desk, a flat screen tv, and a minifridge stocked with food. Shadow stocked his extra ammo in the closet and put his gun on top of the desk. He hadn't brought much with him, just that, so he didn't have to decorate. He sat on the bed in a meditative position, gathering his thoughts and preparing for the combat soon to follow.

He was interrupted by a sound over the mansions intercom. "Will all contestants please report to the Great Hall immediately."

Sighing, he got up off the bed and made his way t the Great Hall, where the other contestants were gathered. The Great Hall certainly was great, with a ceiling that stretched to the sky and expansive walls. It easily fit all the contestants. Shadow looked around the room. There certainly was a variety of people, and he hoped that at least one would be a worthy challenge for him. Knowing he was just destined to crush these people like the fools they were, he chose to stand alone, apart from the main group.

His wandering eye was brought back to the center of the room as Master Hand appeared in a flash of light and a puff of smoke. He waited for what the Hand had to say.

"Hello, all you contestants, to this years Super smash Brothers Brawl tournament. As usual, I am the tournament organizer and coordinator. As you'll notice, there are some new faces this year. May I present the new contestants, Falco Lombardi, Wolf O'Donnell, Lucario, Diddy Kong, King Dedede, Lucas, Meta Knight, Olimar, Ike, Pitataneil, Red, Wario, R.O.B, Solid Snake, Toon Link, and Shadow."

The old people turned to look at the newcomers, and shadow felt many eyes upon him. He didn't doubt that the tale of his entry into the Mansion had been spread by the people there. He was comfortable with the attention, but it didn't lessen his determination.

"Now, for you older people, I've made some changes from last years tournament. And for you newer people, you better listen up, because these are the rules."

Shadow partially listened, mostly to the bit saying what he could and cold not do. He figured he didn't need more than that to win. This was just a waste of time now. He wanted to get to the fight already, and assert his superiority over these fools.

"So, match schedules will be posted on the message boards within an hour. Make sure you look a them. Missing your match is an auto-loss. Other than that, enjoy yourselves."

As Master Hand finished, he pointed up towards the ceiling and launched a firework from his index finger, then vanished in a puff of smoke. With the meeting over, the combatants started making their way out of the room, conversing and getting to know each other.

Shadow tried to walk alone, but it was inevitable that someone would try to talk to him. He found the Wolf walking next to him, trying to engage in conversation. Shadow ignored him until he finally snapped.

"What the hell do you want?"

Wolf looked offended. "Me? Merely to talk and get to know each other. You know, I have every intention of winning this tournament and beating Fox once and for all."

Shadow snorteded, "You and everyone else here. So what?"

Wolf smiled a... wolfish smile, "Why, you seem strong, and I would be honored to fight you for the championship. Therefore, I think we should work together, an unofficial partnership, to make sure we both make it to the top and fight each other for ultimate victory. "

Shadow looked away. "I don't need you to win. I don't need anyone. I can do it fine on my own. You are all fools, trying to combat me. There is a reason they call me the ultimate life form, and soon you will learn why."

Wolf had stopped walking during that snap by shadow, and he realized it was futile to try and argue. "Very well, Shadow the Hedgehog, I will just have to beat you then, and prove your words wrong."

Shadow didn't look back as he said, "right. Good luck with that."

* * *

The Smash Mansion was abuzz with talk over Shadow, the hedgehog who had stated repeatedly that he would win the tournament by himself, and that he would crush the other competitors. People such as Samus Aran talked him down.

"He's all talk and no action. When it comes time to fight, he'll fold like a deck of cards."

Others, like Link, weren't so sure he was all talk.

"I don't know Samus. He seemed to really mean it. And did you see that gun? He'll be a tough opponent, I think."

"Heh. He's got a rifle. I've got a suit of advanced armor and an energy cannon that shoots missiles. And if I get one of the new "Smash Balls" well, lord have mercy on his soul."

"I don't know," said Link thoughtfully.

In a different part of the mansion, a secret meeting was taking place. Attending were all the villains that were taking part in the tournament. Ganondorf, Bowser, Wolf, and Wario were there, discussing the tournament.

"So, we are agreed then," asked Wolf.

"Yeah, but I still think we should try to get shadow in. According to the archives Master Hand opened up from his world, he's clashed with the hero there multiple times. He is a villain," grunted Bowser

"Except, he's made it perfectly clear he's going to work alone, and he's also done several good things for that world of his. He certainly wouldn't go along with our plan," said Ganondorf.

"He will just have to be dealt with when the time comes, like all the others," said Wolf. "Now, we really must be going, or people will wonder where we are."

"Right, so we're doing this then," said Bowser as he started walking towards the door.

"Yes," said Wolf as he walked towards the exit as well.

"Yes, we are going to sabotage the Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament, and then we, the villains, shall be victorious," said Ganondorf as he joined the others in exiting the room.


	3. Chapter 3

The time had come. The stadium was full of cheering fans. Now, they could begin the first match of the Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament.

"In this corner, an old favorite, the pink puffball from Dreamland, KIRBY," said master Hand acting in his role of announcer.

"And in the other corner, the self styled ultimate life form from Mobius, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG."

Shadow appeared on the opposite side of the stage from Kirby, after teleporting in with his chaos powers. Before the match started, he looked around the stage to see what it would be like, while ignoring the cheering fans. The stage looked like it was in front of a giant tree, with boxes making a bridge over to smaller platforms.

Shadow looked it his opponent, Kirby. He was, in fact, a pink puffball, looking like an oversized marshmellow. He also wasn't taking this very seriously, waving his arms around and staring at the crowd.

Shadow pulled out his rifle and made sure it was loaded. After he had done so, he heard master Hand say, "READY, GO!"

Shadow started off quickly, running to the center of the stage and taking aim with his rifle at Kirby. He cut loose with automatic fire, explosions blossoming as the bullets impacted. Kirby blocked the first shots, but was thrown as they kept impacting against him.

Suddenly, Shadow was shocked to see that Kirby had stopped getting him ,and was actually breathing in the bullets, protecting him from harm. "Humph, fine," said shadow as he threw his rifle off to the side.

Shadow rushed forward to hit Kirby with a spin dash attack ,but was pulled off his feet by Kirby's breath and actually sucked into the Puffball. Shadow moved around, trying to get out, punching and kicking, but it was all for naught until h was expelled by Kirby, who had gained a black and red spiky hairdo.

"What. The. Hell. You're gonna pay for that, puffball," said Shadow angrily.

Dashing around the stage,. He picked up his rifle and a plasma rifle that had appeared, and laid into Kirby while moving around him. He then activated chaos control, and teleported behind Kirby then hit him with a devastating kick. Kirby catapulted left, slamming against a box, which broke open. He waddled over and grabbed a smart bomb, then hurled it at the approaching Shadow. Shadow saw it coming, and quickly moved out of the way so he was not hit when it went off.

Shadow was getting tired of this, and decided to end it. While the bomb was exploding, he picked up his rifle again. When it faded, he ran forward, only to have to dodge quickly as Kirby jumped into the air and slammed down with a sword, creating a shockwave that Shadow had to jump over. As he fell through the air, Shadow fired at Kirby, who now had to dodge the hail of bullets. Shadow then moved into a spin attack, but collided against. Kirby who had used his own spin attack.

Hm, so that puffball can copy my abilities when he dons that weird hairdo, thought shadow as he landed on the ground.

Shadow knew what he had to do to end this. Activating Chaos Control, he teleported behind Kirby, then planted his gun on Kirby's back and fired at maximum power. The power overwhelmed Kirby's resistance and catapulted him off of the stage into the void. A flash of light akin to an explosion announced Kirby's exit from the stage.

Shadow nodded to himself and glanced at the audience as he laid his gun along the back of his neck in a resting position. "Humph, Perfect," he said.

At the same time, Master Hand called out, "KIRBY DEFEATED." At that, the crowd went wild.

Shadow basked in the applause. This, truly, was recognition for the ultimate life form. Before he could enjoy it more though, he was teleported back into the preparation room in the mansion, along with the defeated Kirby.

Shadow placed his rifle back in its holster as Kirby walked up to him. "Poyo poyo," said Kirby, congratulating him on his victory.

Shadow heard Kirby, but didn't return the compliment. His victory was never in doubt., so there was no point in telling someone they gave him a good fight when they hadn't. Instead, he took off his fighting gear and walked away, leaving a very sad Kirby behind.

* * *

Mario and Captain Falcon were sitting in one of the common rooms watching A_merica's Got Talent_ when Kirby, still sad from before, walked in. Mario and Falcon immediately knew that something was up. Kirby was the happiest person in the entire mansion, you never saw him sad.

Kirby sat down by Mario. "Hey Kirby, whats the matter," asked Mario.

Kirby replied "Poyo, po, ai."

Mario frowned at that. "Wait, so you say that Shadow was a jerk to you, and didn't even respond to your congratulations?"

"Poy," said Kirby as he nodded his head.

Mario and Falcon glanced at each other.

"Hm, looks like Shadow needs to be taught a lesson," said Falcon as he lounged on the other couch.

"Yeah,' replied Mario as he patted Kirby on the head. "Hey, I think I saw a cake in the fridge."

At that, Kirby immediately lit up. Nothing could keep him down forever, and food was the best way to cheer him up. Happily, he ran to the kitchen and started munching cake.

"Hey, Mario, I think I found a way for us to beat some respect into Shadow."

"Yeah," asked Mario as he walked over to Falcon, who was holding a paper on which was printed the tournament schedule.

"Yeah. It looks like his next match is a four way battle, with you, me, and Samus. I think we can work something out with our resident bounty hunter so that shadow is sadly eliminated first."

Mario frowned. He didn't like doing things like that, since he considered it to be akin to cheating, but seeing how Shadow had made Kirby feel changed his mind pretty quickly. "Alright. I will talk to her," he said.

"Good. Time to teach that bastard a lesson he'll never forget,' said Falcon as he cracked his knuckles.


	4. Chapter 4

The Tournament had been proceeding nicely, with fighters brawling it out for domination. There were already some early run favorites. Link looked to be repeating the impressive performance he had put in last year, while Wolf had stuck out as a strong competitor. And of course, Shadow the Hedgehog the new competitor that had polarized the mansion when it came to peoples reactions to him. Some approved of his attitude towards everyone else there. This was a contest meant to be won after all. Others didn't appreciate it though, and thought that he was a rude jerk who only cared about winning.

Shadows morning started with meditation, as he gathered his latent abilities and prepared them for this day of combat. It was a four way free for all with Mario, Captain falcon, and that annoying bounty hunter Samus, so this might prove to be a bit interesting for once.

He made his way quietly down to the gym, where he had his morning workout, ignoring the presence of several of the other fighters there. He beat up a sandbag, and then jogged 5 miles. Afterwards, he went down to the cafeteria, and got himself breakfast, deliberately sitting apart from the other fighters. When he finished, he spent the time alone, practicing his fighting skills, cleaning his gun, and waiting for the next match.

Finally, the time arrived for the match. Shadow made his way to the preparation room with his rifle. There, he found Samus, Mario, and Falcon getting ready as well. Mario had stocked up on Fire Flowers, while Samus put on her Varia Suit and made sure she was loaded with energy tanks and missiles.

As Shadow put on his Dash Rings, Samus stared at him and gave him a chilling smile. "Hope you're ready Hedgehog. This time, you're mine."

Falcon cracked his knuckles and gave Shadow a determined look. "Yeah. We're going to have to beat some manners into you."

Shadow expected Mario to say something, but the plumber just walked through the teleporter into the ready area.

"Fine. Whatever. I'll just take both of you down,' replied shadow before heading through the teleporter as well.

* * *

Samus and Falcon followed him through, and the match was set to start.

Master Hand was pleased with himself. He had made the right choice with shadow. The warrior was very controversial, among the contestants and among the fans, driving his ratings through the roof. And if Shadow could win this, he would be a shoe-in for the Finals.

Floating in his announcers booth high above the stands, Master Hand made sure everything was in place. Items had been loaded into teleportation pods, and the fighters had entered the ready area. The stage had been set up as his personal favorite, Final Destination. The flat stage would provide lots of drop down slug out action.

"Fans, welcome to another match of the Super smash Brawls Tournament. Presenting, the Plumber from Mushroom Land, MARIO!

Presenting, the Bounty Hunter you know and love, SAMUS ARAN!

Presenting, the speed racer from Port Town, CAPTAIN FALCON!

Presenting, the ultimate life form from Mobus, SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG!"

As each of the fighters were announced, they were lowered into the arena. Each of them could see it was a small, flat stage, perfect for close in fights. The fighters looked around, anxious to start the battle.

"READY? GO!"

With Master hands words, the force fields dropped away, and the fighters rushed into the attack, shadow letting lose with his rifle while Samus fired a missile at him. Shadow quickly noticed that Falcon was serious, as it seemed they were all teaming up against him to knock him off first. He had to use all his speed and power to keep alive. He grabbed a beam rifle in addition to his regular gun, but for some reason it was out of ammo, and he had to toss it and keep running.

Shadow spotted a red and white circle lying on the ground and ran for it. A smart Bomb was what could end this now, for at least one person. Maybe Samus, who had proved remarkably durable under a barrage of explosive bullets. He grabbed it and tossed it at the armored warrior, only to watch in surprise as it bounced off her and fell off the stage without detonating.

"Damn it," muttered Shadow, who was forced to jump over a Charge Shot and a fireball.

Captain Falcon ran up and unleashed a devastating barrage of kicks, which Shadow had to move back form. Shadow then rammed into him with a Dash Attack, knocking him back. He couldn't rest though, as Mario ran forward into a spin, knocking shadow into the air. Before he could recover, he was hit by Samus's spin move, throwing him off the bounds of the stage. He had to use his Chaos Control Dash to grab the ledge before he fell.

As he hung on to the ledge, Samus walked up and stared down at him, her cannon arm aimed at his face. "Too bad. You seemed to have some potential."

Shadow grimaced, his muscles straining to lift him up, to stop himself from being beaten, but before he could do anything, he was shocked to see Samus tossed into the air from a barrel hit. Falcon ran forward to finish the job himself, but Shadow leapt up and kicked him away.

It was then he saw his victory. The barrel had shattered, unleashing a new item that Master Hand had called a smash Ball, an item that when broken, gave the user immense power. Shadow knew he had to get it. He whipped out his rifle, and fired at it, as Samus, who had recovered from the hit, fired a missile at it. It was a race to see who could damage it more, from which Sahdow barely emerged victorious.

The last bullet slammed into the multicolored orb, transferring its power to Shadow just before the missile struck. Shadow felt immense power enter his body, and as he looked around, he saw himself begin to glow yellow. It felt as if he had gained the power of all the Chaos Emeralds. He could probably beat them all with Super shadow, but he wanted to do something spectacular, something that showed he was the top dog here. With the speed of a thought, he had an idea.

"CHAOS CONTROL," he yelled, and used his power to teleport the stage.

The stage found itself engulfed in a wave of power, then thrown high into orbit above the planet Mobius. The planet was visible, as well as the half of the Moon that was left, and, more importantly, the spherical shape of the ARK Space Station directly above them.

As the three others reacted, the main gun of the ARK slowly opened, green energy building up along it. Samus glanced up and knew what was coming, but the other two were trying to get their bearings. She managed to dive out of the way as the gun fired, unleashing a devastating beam of energy that could destroy a city on the planet below. Mario and captain falcon were thrown off the stage and eliminated.

Shadow teleported the stage back to te arena, then turned around and walked up to Samus, who was hanging from a ledge.

"Who's got the potential now, bitch," he said, before firing his gun directly into her visor.

Samus, taking the blow, had to let go of the ledge, and was unable to grab it again as shadow shot her more. She fell off the stage, and vanished in a flash of light.

"AND THE WINNER IS... SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG," said Master Hand, to thunderous applause.

* * *

Shadow just looked around the arena and smirked, resting his gun on his shoulder, before being teleported back to the preparation room.

Samus slammed her fist against the wall of the preparation room in anger. "Damn it! Was this close to making that bastard pay," she yelled.

"I know. And what the hell was that thing," asked Falcon.

Shadow answered as he entered the room, despite a death glare from Samus. "The ARK Space Station, a research station in my world that was equipped with a doomsday laser that can destroy cities and planets with enough power."

"Next time Hegdehog, next time you're mine,' said Samus angrily before stomping out. Falcon followed close behind her.

Shadow ignored their angry reactions. As he took off his Dash Rings, he glanced over at Mario. "You stopped her. Why?"

Mario looked over at him. "It didn't seem fair. This is supposed to be a contest, where the strongest wins. Not a contest where the person who gets hated loses first."

Shadow turned his attention away, not entirely surprised. It seemed like something a hero would do. He'd probably catch hell from Samus later when she saw the replay, but that wasn't Shadow's problem. Without so much as a thank you, he walked out of the preparation room into the mansion, leaving Mario torn about the wiseness of his decision.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This took a while. I got distracted by other stories and school. But here it is.**

* * *

**I own no rights here, besides intellectual property of this idea. Not that that means much anymore.**

The Brawl tournament continued apace. Shadow dominated the charts, rising in popularity because of his perception as a general badass by the public, and his continued string of victories. Of course, his rising popularity with the public went in direct disproportion to his popularity among the tournament members, which was plunging like a stone. He was generally by himself all the time, although he preferred it that way, and he had alienated pretty much everyone through his bluntness. So now he spent most of his time in the gym, out in the countryside doing laps, and meditating for upcoming fights. It was getting a bit monotonous. Nobody had proven themselves a real challenge yet, besides that bounty hunter.

As he was working in the gym taking out his aggression on a punching bag, he heard the door to the gym slide open. He didn't turn his attention to the newcomer, but he did note that it appeared to be mechanical in nature from the metallic clang of its moving feet. The newcomer stopped behind him and said, "Hello again, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Shadow whirled around, recognizing the voice. "Omega, what are you doing here/ Master Hand didn't make you a contestant did he?"

The black and red robot replied, "Negative. I have been brought here to act as help for the combatants."

Shadow went back to beating up the punching bag. "Well, its good to have at least one person here who understands what being the best is like. Even if you aren't an actual combatant."

Omega turned and blasted a different punching bag, the burst ripping it from its hook and sending it flying into a wall. "Affirmative."

Shadow stopped his barrage of attacks, a thought forming in his mind. He turned to face the hulking robot. "Omega, up for some sparring? Been a while since I faced someone at my level."

The robots eyes moved about as it sent the request through its internal processors. "I am, Shadow."

"Good." Shadow led the robot to the combat simulation room. Once inside, he went over to the control panel and loaded up a stage for them to fight on. He avoided the Ark, since there were too many bad memories involved for him. Instead, he went with a flat stage that appeared to be just a long bridge. Plenty of space for him to run around, and for Omega to aim with his weapons. He activated the hologram and watched as the stage materialized around them, a red sunset in the distance with the detritus of war around the bridge.

"Time to see who the best warrior really is," said Shadow before running towards Omega while shooting at him with his rifle. Omega countered by firing at Shadow with the miniguns in his arms, bullets bouncing off the stone around Shadow, yet none hitting. Shadow leapt into the air in a flip over Omega, his gun trained and pounding the robot with bullets as he flew over this head. Landing, he was caught off guard as jets of fire spewed from Omega's arms, catching Shadow in their deadly red embrace and burning his skin.

"Agh," gasped Shadow, the pain flowing through his burnt nerves to his brain. He quickly dashed to the side, out of the flames where he patted the flames out that persisted on his skin. He quickly realized the mistake he had made. This flat plane was perfectly suited to Omega's weapons, while Shadow could really maneuver around. Well, too late to do much about it now.

Shadow smirked before activating Chaos Control and teleporting behind Omega, then blasting his leg joints with his rifle. The joints were armored, but his rifle had explosive rounds and automatic fire. Shadow was able to partially damage it before Omega rounded around and grabbed him in its crushing embrace.

Shadow growled as he struggled to break out of Omega's embrace, but it was all for naught. The robot was just too strong. Omega began whirling around very fast before throwing Shadow towards the side of the stage. Shadow, dizzy from being spun around so much, slammed int the ground and slid almost off the stage. He pulled himself back up, shaking the spinning world back into focus. His vision resolving, he saw some mounted warrior charging at him, and he quickly jumped over it. Omega cleared it as well, and the two warriors ran to fight again, Shadow using his Spin Dash while Omega fired at him with his machine guns, neither of them noticing the bomb that the creature had dropped.

That is, until it exploded, blowing out the middle of the bridge. Which Omega happened to be standing on. Of course, the robot wasn't so easily defeated, and he used his thrusters to jet to solid ground as Shadow used the distraction for all it was worth, hitting Omega with rifle fire as he flew and further damaging the robot.

Omega slammed down then cut loose with his flamethrowers, making Shadow realize the trouble he was in since there wasn't much room to run with the middle of the bridge gone. He needed a new plan, and fast.

Suddenly one leapt into his mind. Using his Spin Dash, he jumped onto Omega's head and began battering away at the back, ripping away the panel that covered his internal components. He then began ripping and smashing everything he could get his hands on. Omega, feeling himself start to vanish as circuit conduits were severed, began talking erratically and walking around. So much that shadow didn't notice them approach the edge of the cliff.

Omegas foot hit a slanted piece of cobblestone and threw off his balance, causing the robot to tumble into the gap between the bridge sections. Shadow tried to hop away and Spin Dash to safety, but he was caught by Omega's flailing, and they both fell into the river below, ending the simulation.

The scenery vanished, and all the damage that had been dealt was healed, Shadow's skin being restored and Omega's internal components being repaired. "Good fight," commented Shadow. "I must be off my game a bit."

"Perhaps," replied Oemga. He then said. "Shadow. I have messages for you from Mobius."

Intrigued, shadow holstered his rifle before saying. "Alright, what are they?"

Omega ejected a small disc from one of the slots in his back, and he grabbed it and handed it to Shadow. "They are in media format. View them at your time."

Shadow took the disc and pocketed it. "Well thanks. At least Master Hand got two things right with this tournament. You, and me."

"Affirmative."

Shadow, with Omega a short distance behind him, exited the gym as they talked of old battles.

Later, alone in his room, Shadow pulled out the disc that Omega had given him. "well, might as well listen to it. Someone might have something useful to say," he commented to no one in particular, before inserting the disc into the holographic projector. Hitting the 'Execute' button, he sat in a chair and waited for the messages to start.

The first one to pop up was, to shadows complete non-surprise, that of Sonic. "_Hey Shadow old buddy. Hope you're kicking butt in that tournament. Too bad I didn't get in it. Next year though, I'm just going to have to take that title from you myself."_ Shadow snorted as the hologram let out a short laugh. "_Well, catch you later,"_ said Sonic before the message ended and the hologram vanished.

The next one to appear was Knuckles, although he was apparently having issues with the whole thing. "_Why do I have to make a message to the guy. He doesn't want our advice or anything. Maybe if he loses he'll get some sense knocked into him...What do you mean we're recording? Gah._

_Okay, um, go get them Shadow, I guess. Do Mobius proud... Dang it, I'm done. Turn this thing off."_ The hologram of Knuckles vanished, a flustered expression on the red Echidna's face before he vanished. Shadow almost felt like laughing at the Echinda's discomfort.

Then, Eggman appeared. Lord knows how he had gotten somebody to film him and add it to this disc. "A_h, Shadow. I was so pleased to see how wonderfully you were doing in the tournament. You truly are a marvel. I'm very pleased. Keep up the good work."_ Shadow frowned. "Like I care what he thinks." although, somehow Eggman had made it through that short speech without doing an evil laugh. Very impressive.

Finally, the last message came on, and Shadows eyes widened in surprise. "Rouge." Indeed, a hologram of the white bat was standing there right in front of him. Shadow had to admit, she was the only one besides Omega that he was looking forward to hearing from. "_Hey Shadow. I don't have much to say besides 'Good luck'."_ Then, she gave him a wave, a wink, and she was gone.

Shadow sighed. Well, that had...mostly been a waste of his time. Time to be moving on to something else. He supposed he should at least appreciate the effort they put into those messages, but honestly, Knuckles was right. He was already trying to be the best. He didn't need their moral support.

Getting up, he decided to go work out more. That fight with Omega had shown he was off his game. These weirdos here were making him slack off, and he needed to get back into the fight.

Sliding open the window, he looked out a second before jumping down to the ground and taking off running.

What Shadow was unaware of was that his brawl with Omega hadn't gone unnoticed. In fact, two of the fighters had been avidly watching. And after it had ended, the two of them walked the mansion as they talked.

"Man that was sweet. Shadow was like POW, and then Omega was like GACKGACKGACKGACKGACK, and then Shadow was like HAH, and Omega was like FWOOSH, and then there was that BOOM from the bomb. And man that was awesome."

"I know Pit, I was there too," commented Red.

Pit calmed down in a hurry. "Right. Sorry man. I just love a good fight."

"Aren't you a warrior angel or something? I'd have thought you'd have your fill of fighting," commented Red as he walked besides the hovering angel.

"Yeah, but that fight was just so cool, you know? Man, he must be famous back in his home world."

Red frowned. "Um, he is. Didn't you read his bio? He was the bad guy until a couple months or so ago, when he fought off an alien invasion. So..."

"Oh." That news brought Pit down in a hurry. "So, he's not awesome?"

"Well, he is. He's just not quite the good guy. I mean, he insulted me for having Pokemon. Apparently friends make you weak and you're better off working alone. Ignoring the fact that me and my Pokemon work best together and that he's a Hedgehog with super speed and weird powers while I'm just a guy. Not really a comparison there."

"Hm," said Pit as he thought about that. He and Red had become quick friends, both of them being new fighters and, relatively speaking, near the same age. "Maybe its just because we don't know him well."

"Maybe," replied red uncertainly. He thought actions spoke louder than words, but Pit was undeterred. "Have you talked to Mario, or Kirby? They don't seem to think well of him."

"Nope. Guess I should."

"Yeah.," agreed Red as they walked off towards the common room while talking. They would talk to Mario later.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Another long delayed update. I give no excuses besides writing other stuff. Oh, and college/holidays. But you probably don't care. So on with it then.**

**I own nothing. I wish I did.**

* * *

Shadow would generally say that he was not in a good mood. This was mainly because his next match was going to be a tag team match, but he didn't do teams very well. Most of the time he could barely put up with people he worked with if they didn't have common, unconflicting goals. Generally, this reduced to him working with Omega, or occasionally Rouge. With Sonic's gang only if world survival was at stake. And that was because he had a reputation to uphold.

Now though, he was being forced onto a team for this next match, a state of affairs he had only found out about today, the day of the match, when he had overheard Fox and Falco talking strategy in the cafeteria. Naturally, they thought that he was the greater threat, and were making plans on how they would take him out. And as much as he assumed that they would do that as a matter of fact, he knew that their egos would never let them stand working together in a free for all. Exiting, he quickly went off to find what poor soul he would be shackled to.

A quick check of the schedule gave him the answer. It was Meta Knight, another new contender who was as much shrouded in mystery as he was, wrapped in a cloak with a mask, spouting words of wisdom when needed and generally being silent otherwise if not directly asked a question. Shadow didn't know how much this would be a problem for him, but he didn't need his help. So, he didn't go seeking him out, like another might have. Instead, he did his daily routine, working out in the gym, meditating, and making sure his gun was in ready condition for the battle to come.

Finally, it was time to get ready to fight. Shadow walked to the preparation area, where Fox, Falco, and Meta Knight were. He ignored the chattering of the fox and bird, slipping on his dash rings and holstering his gun. Glancing over, he caught Meta Knight looking at him, with some unknown purpose, as if he was trying to understand the one he was fighting with. Shadow didn't blame him, but had his own questions about the mysterious warriors, most of which would be answered in combat.

This fight would be really interesting, a battle of gunslingers, with Shadow, Fox, and Falco all packing guns to blast away at each other with. Shadow knew the other two had laser weapons, but he was confident his skills would prove superior.

"Alright, let's do it," said Fox, giving Falco a high five as they stepped onto the teleportation pads to enter the arena.

Shadow followed them, sparing enough time to give Meta Knight some advice. "Stay out of my way. We may be on a team, but we aren't friends. Got it?":

Meta Knight didn't respond, but the narrowing of his eyes behind the mask indicated that he got the message. Shadow nodded. Good. He didn't need his 'team mate' getting in his way during the fight. And wasting his energy and time. He could get this done much faster by himself.

Ready to begin, he stepped into the teleporter, and vanished in a flash of light.

* * *

Shadow appeared on the teleport pad in the arena, which was once again surrounded by cheering fans. Shadow paid them no attention, as much as they may have yelled for his, and scanned the battlefield. He recognized it as Hyrule, that once place that Link and that other Princess were from. It was a fairly large stage, as they went, with room to run around and use ranged attacks to good effect as well. It would be interesting to see how it went.

Master Hand started the announcements. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER EXCITIING MATCHUP. TODAY, WE HAVE AN EXCITING TEAM MATCH. ON ONE SIDE, YOU KNOW THEM, YOU LOVE THEM, TEAM STAR FOX!"

Falco grinned as he twirled his blaster, while Fox shot the crowd something of a salute before turning his attention back to the battlefield, causing an additional roar from the crowd.

"AND THEIR OPPONENTS, TWO RISING STARS IN THEIR FIRST TEAM MATCH TOGETHER, THE MYSTERIOUS META KNIGHT AND THE DARK SHADOW!"

Neither of them really showed off like their opponents had, choosing instead to focus on the match ahead and winning the fight ahead. Meta Knight usually refrained from displays of emotion, and Shadow just didn't plain care.

Master Hand began the match. "READY? GO!"

The second the match began, all four raced forward, and the battle was joined. Laser bolts flew across the terrain as Fox and Falco began firing in tandem, one laying down fire while the other advanced. Shadow returned fire as he moved, his bullets crisscrossing with lasers in the sky. Meta Knight bounded across the landscape, gracefully landing before leaping back into the sky, his cloak wrapped around him.

Shadow hit the ground in a slide, dodging a fusillade of laser blasts that flew through where his head had been a second before. He fired a few shots to keep their attention, then leapt up into a Spin Dash as Meta Knight landed between Fox and Falco, flourishing his cape before leaping at the bird, sword drawn. He batted aside the gun and unleashed a fury of slashes, his sword striking and slashing as it worked to break through Falco's guard, drawing red blood from cuts as it went. Fox whirled around and brought his gun to aim on the dark warrior, but before he could fire he lurched forward as the spinning Shadow impacted against his back.

Shadow landed in a crouch and stood back up as Fox got back to his feet and turned to face the black hedgehog. Meta Knight and Falco were left to fight alone as the two stared each other down. Shadow curled his gloved hands into fists as Fox got in a fighting stance. Fox did a "Come at me" motion to Shadow, who obliged.

Their hands clashed as they began hand to hand combat, both spinning around and leaping into the air as they sought an advantage over one another, Shadow using his speed while Fox used his superior reach to keep Shadow from getting in close. Grunts issued forth as they each landed their own hits, Shadow kicking Fox upside the head in a leap, and Fox battered Shadow with a flurry of kicks which the hedgehog could not completely block.

Still, neither of them backed off as they landed hits on each other. And, as he grimaced, Shadow had to admit that it was becoming a closer run thing than he would like. If it came down to a bashing contest, he'd probably lose. Quickly, he backflipped before using a short burst of chaos control to grab an energy sword. Fox's eyes slightly widened as Shadow reappeared in front of him, brandishing the weapon.

"So, that's how you want to play," said Fox. He smirked. "Alright."

Shadow didn't bother responding, but dashed forward with sword prepared to strike. He was about to strike when Fox did a spin kick, only this was added to by the boosters on his feet, throwing Shadow back until he slammed into the ground, the sword flying out of his hand. With a grimace, the Hedgehog got to his feet, fists curled in anger. The fox would pay for that.

He rolled up into a Spin Dash, aiming at Fox, who prepared to dodge. Only to his surprise, Shadow vanished as he used Chaos Control, before a Spin Kick of Shadows own slammed into the back of his head. This sent him stumbling forward, and Shadow landed easily before pulling out his gun again.

Fox recovered, and turned around to see Shadow with his gun out. He pulled out his own weapon and aimed, before his hand brushed over a dial on his belt, and he suddenly sped up, moving to get behind Shadow. Shadow saw it coming though and used his own Chaos Control, and fox worked to get behind that, leading to a series of leaps that took them across the stage as they angled to get behind one another. To soon though, they ran out of space to move backwards in their attempts.

Fox ended up behind shadow and planted his gun on the back of Shadows head. "Looks like I win,' he said matter of factly.

"As if," harrumphed Shadow before he Chaos Controlled above Fox and slammed down with his jet shoes, Fox stumbled forward as Shadow impacted on his head, and upon landing, Shadow aimed and fired. The bolt slammed into Fox's back and exploded, catapulting him across the stage and into the abyss, a flash of light signaling his departure.

That done with, Shadow turned to Meta Knight and Falco, who were still going at it. A quick intervention, a bit of of hand to hand combat and a rifle shot later, and Falco had been trounced by the two warriors.

"AND THE WINNER IS...SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG AND META KNIGHT," announced Master Hand as he ended the match. Meta Knight sheathed his sword and shadow holstered his rifle before they were teleported back to the preparation room.

* * *

Arriving back, Shadow could see Fox and Falco almost done storing their gear. "Next time man, next time," said Falco with certainty, to which Shadow just smirked.

"Good fight though," commented Fox with a grin. "Can't wait to do it again."

Shadow rolled his eyes. "Can't wait to get beat again? Well, it's your life."

"Hah, don't think you'll get so lucky again."

Shadow paused for a second before replying. "That wasn't luck. It was skill. The skill that's going to win me this pointless tournament so I can get back to better things."

Fox would have gone on had Falco not distracted him, and they both lef the preparation room en route to the cafeteria. Shadow went back to storing his stuff, none the more caring than before. Glancing over, he did catch Meta Knight looking at him, not being subtle about it as before. "What," he asked angrily.

Meta Knight shook his head. "Such anger. Why is it? I wonder if you even know."

"Of course I know," replied Shadow rapidly. "I want to be the best, and I don't have time for you fools."

"Such anger from you. You want to be the best, to prove to yourself that you are the strongest, so that what happened on the Ark will not happen again. But you also are cold, abrasive. You drive people away form you, so that the attachments which led to your pain will not happen again, and you cannot be hurt that way again. Interesting."

Shadow rounded on Meta Knight, fists clenched. "I don't need you to analyze my life. I know who I am, and what I want to be. I am Shadow, the Ultimate Life form, and I don't need you, or anyone else to judge me on that. I will be the strongest, and that is all there is to it."

Meta Knight didn't back down. "You may tell yourself that, but there will come a time when what you believe is put to the test. You will face yourself, and I pray you approve of what you see."

Shadow, anger diminishing, backed off. "So, my turn for a question. Why the mask? What are you hiding from?"

He could have sworn the warrior grinned at him behind the metal mask. "I am a warrior. A warrior wears a mask to protect his face. There is no meaning behind it." Meta Knight began exiting the room, but stopped to glance back at shadow. "Goodbye Shadow." With that, he departed.

Shadow watched the doorway where Meta Knight had left for a second afterwards, more out of shock than anything. Then, with a shrug, he turned back, finished storing his gear, and headed into the mansion. He wouldn't concern himself with what Meta Knight had said. He didn't get it. Nobody got it. So, who were they to judge him. He'd just beat them all and move on. Philosophy wasn't his thing, and he was content with who he was.

And so, he walked, confident in step, and certain of the future.


End file.
